Traffic stop yields sawed-off shotgun, cocaine

Squamish resident arrested on three charges, including possession of prohibited weapon

A routine traffic stop in Squamish last week netted some
unexpected results.

On the evening of Tuesday, Dec. 18 an RCMP patrol officer
noticed a grey 1984 Audi 500 traveling north on Buckley Avenue with a missing
front license plate and expired insurance.

When the officer pulled the car over, he noticed a strong odour
of marijuana emanating from the vehicle, and in a subsequent search and
investigation of the three male occupants, discovered that one of the
passengers was wearing a belt containing 18 rounds of shotgun ammunition.

A fully-operational sawed off shotgun and an undisclosed amount
of cocaine were also discovered in a backpack.

A 22-year-old Squamish man, Steven Cutler, was arrested and is
facing charges of possession of a prohibited weapon, possession of a controlled
substance, and possession of stolen property. Cutler is scheduled to appear in
court on Jan. 2 to obtain counsel, but a date for arraignment has not been set
yet.

The penalty for possession of a prohibited weapon is a maximum
of 10 years or a minimum of one year in prison.

Staff Sergeant Steve LeClair of the Whistler RCMP detachment says
this type of discovery isn’t common in the Sea to Sky region.

The 20-year-old driver of the vehicle was issued a ticket for
driving without valid insurance, and the vehicle was towed.